Birthday Meetings
by btamamura
Summary: AU-fic. It's Tracey's seventh birthday, and he's having a party with his friends to celebrate. But, three of them don't know the fourth guest... Follows the same storyline as my AU series, but contains NO shounen-ai


_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own Pokemon or the characters. They belong to Tajiri Satoshi, Nintendo, Game Freak...etc._

**Notes: **_**This fic is a belated birthday present for **__medea10__**, a good friend of mine, who also happens to be a huge fan of Tracey Sketchit and is also very fond of Cilan. (I apologise for the lateness of this fic, I had some serious writer's block and couldn't even come up with an idea...) So, without further ado, here's an AU fic...please note that while this is set during the same AU as my previous fics, this is a childhood fic, so no shounen-ai this time, just friendship. Enjoy~!**_

Tracey quickly sat up in bed, a wide smile on his face. He was very excited, as he was finally a seven-year-old. He scrambled out of his bed and dashed to his parents' bedroom. He threw open the door. "Mummy! Daddy! I'm seven!"

The two of them laughed slightly, already used to Tracey's _birthday behaviour_ as his mother Marie called it. Every year since he could walk and talk, he'd burst into their room and exclaim his age proudly. "Well then, looks like we'll have to give the birthday boy a very special breakfast indeed," Marie commented as she slid out of bed and slipped on a dressing gown. "Andrew, would you be able to take care of the p-r-e-s-e-n-t-s?"

He nodded and also slipped out of bed. "Go with your mother, Trace, and I'll be down very soon."

"Okay!" He took his mother's hand and walked with her down the stairs and into the kitchen.

He was eating a delicious breakfast of pancakes and waffles, one of his favourites, when his father entered the kitchen, two boxes in his arms. "Are those for me?"

"I don't think I know of any other seven-year-old boys named Tracey Sketchit. Do you, Marie?"

Marie giggled as she poured two cups of coffee. "No, I can't say I do."

"Then, it looks like these are for you." He set them on the table. "Careful not to get any maple syrup on them though." He accepted a mug from his wife with a quiet word of thanks, and a quick peck on the cheek.

Tracey knew he'd have to finish breakfast before he could open his presents, but he was okay with that. No matter how excited he got, he was blessed with the virtue of patience. He continued eating breakfast, taking some time to drink his hot chocolate with a marshmallow sitting on top.

"After you've opened your presents, we'll go shopping, alright?" Marie stated. "We need to get some things for your party this afternoon after all."

"I can't wait until the party!" It would be a small gathering, but again, he was okay with that. He was a shy child, so he had few friends. He was glad that his very best friend in all the world was able to make it.

"This will be the first time they meet Ash, won't it?" Andrew asked his wife. He was referring to Tracey's best friend Cilan, and his brothers Cress and Chilli.

The boy nodded happily. It was about time his friends met Ash.

After breakfast, it was time to open presents. He first opened the small present, a gift from his mother. It was a set of different coloured pencils, one of the more expensive sets. "Thank you, Mummy, these will make my pictures look much better!"

"It's alright, dear."

He then opened the larger one, it was another art set. It consisted of a sketchbook, different greylead pencils, some paints and brushes, some crayons and some markers. "Thank you, Daddy!"

"Glad you like it, son." Andrew ruffled his son's hair affectionately. He and Marie had known for a couple of years that Tracey enjoyed art, and was already rather skilled at drawing for someone his age. They wanted to help nurture that skill and show they acknowledged his interest.

Marie cleared the plates and the mug from the table, setting them into the sink and running some hot water over them to make washing easier later on. "Okay, Trace, go and get dressed, and we'll go party shopping, okay?"

"Okay, Mummy!" He jumped from the chair to the floor, hugged his parents, picked up his gifts and went upstairs to his bedroom.

Telisha was fussing over her triplet sons. Cress and Cilan were behaving themselves while she helped them get dressed to go to Tracey's party. As for Chilli, he was being a bit more stubborn. "Come now, Chilli, the sooner we get dressed, the sooner we can go to Tracey's party. But, we won't be able to go anywhere if you won't sit still and let me fix your hair."

"Come on, Chilli, I want to go to see Tracey!" Cilan added.

Cress sighed to himself and grabbed Chilli's hand as he ran past. "If you don't behave, we can't go to the party. That means no cake and no ice-cream for you."

"I'll be good." Chilli sat on the chair and stayed quiet while Telisha combed his flaming red hair.

"Also, you three will be meeting someone new today. Ash will be there too," Telisha commented as she ran the comb through Chilli's hair.

"I wonder if Ash will like us..." Cilan whispered.

"I'm sure he will."

"How does Tracey know that Ash kid anyway?" Chilli questioned.

"Because he lives next door. They've been neighbours since Ash was a baby, and they grew up together as playmates. But, remember, Ash is younger than you, so be careful when you play around, okay?"

"Okay, Mummy!" the triplets chorused. It was hard to tell at that point, but Cilan was a little anxious about meeting the new boy.

Marie had just finished tying Tracey's shoelaces when the doorbell sounded through the house. "Can you get that, Andrew?"

"I'm a little tied up at the moment, Marie..." he called back from the living room.

Marie helped her son off his bed. "Let's see who's here first, shall we?"

He nodded, and walked alongside his mother, his hand in hers. Whoever was at the door, he was excited about seeing them.

Marie opened the door, and smiled widely, greeting an old friend of hers. "Hello there, Telisha, so glad you and the boys could make it."

"Hi, Aunty Telisha!" Tracey greeted happily. He let go of his mother's hand as he ran to Cilan and gripped him in a tight embrace. "Hi, Cilan!"

Cilan returned the embrace. "Hi, Tracey, happy birthday!"

"Thank you!"

"Happy birthday, Trace!" Chilli added.

"Congratulations on turning seven," Cress concluded.

"Thank you, Cress, thank you, Chilli!" He broke the embrace.

"Hi, Aunty Marie," the triplets chorused as they looked to Tracey's mother.

Telisha affectionately placed a hand on Tracey's head, ruffling his hair slightly. "Happy birthday, Tracey."

"Thank you, Aunty Telisha," the birthday boy responded.

"Why don't you boys go and play? I'll get the presents from the car."

"Okay!" four boys chorused.

"Come on, I'll show you what Mummy and Daddy gave me for my birthday!" He took Cilan's hand and led him and his brothers through the house to his bedroom. "Daddy's setting up the party."

"Wow! That's a really cool art set!" Chilli exclaimed. "I even want one, and I don't like art all that much!"

The other three chuckled at the redhead's statement.

"These pencils will look really pretty," Cress commented.

Cilan was being a bit quiet. "Hey, Tracey?"

Tracey noticed Cilan was gripping his hand firmly. It had been a habit of theirs to hold the other's hand whenever they felt anxious, it was a form of security. Because of that, he was able to tell that Cilan was bothered about something. He took him to a corner of the room. "What's wrong?"

"I'm worried...what if Ash doesn't like us?"

"He will. I know he will. Ash likes everybody."

"Really? What's he like?"

"Well, he's still little. He's a good boy, though. He's always nice to people, and knows different games to play. I've known him since he was a baby, so he's always been like a baby brother to me."

"Do you and Ash have fights? I sometimes do with my brothers."

"Well, like I said, Ash is still little. He might get a little bossy, but he's quick to realise and apologises right away. We might be a bit mad at each other at those times, but we get over it very quickly."

"What if I cause you two to have a fight?"

"You won't. There's no reason for us to. I told you, Ash likes everybody."

"Tracey, Ash is here!" Marie could be heard calling.

"I'll show you myself. Come on, Cilan!" He still held Cilan's hand, knowing the slightly younger boy needed the comfort. "Cress, Chilli, come meet Ash."

The four boys left the room, Tracey in the lead.

Marie was introducing Telisha to Ash and his mother Delia. She saw her son and Telisha's sons were approaching. "Here they are now!" She gestured to the boys. "Ash, Delia, this is Cress, Chilli and Cilan, they're Telisha's three boys. Boys, this is Ash and his mother Delia."

"It's very nice to meet you, boys. You can call me _Miss Delia_ just as Tracey does." She then turned to Tracey. "Happy birthday, Tracey," Delia greeted him.

"Thank you, Miss Delia!"

Ash stepped closer to Tracey and wrapped his arms around him. "Happy birfday!"

Tracey returned the embrace with one arm. "Thanks, Ash!"

Ash then looked to the triplets. He smiled widely, his grin showing a couple of gaps between his teeth. "Hi, it's nice to meet you!"

Cilan felt his anxieties start to fade with that friendly greeting. "Nice to meet you as well, Ash. I'm Cilan."

"I know! Tracey says lots about you! You're his bestest best fwiend in the whole world! I want to be fwiends with Tracey's bestest best fwiend in the whole world."

"Really?"

"Yeah! Because we both like Tracey!"

Tracey blushed lightly at that statement.

"Cress, Chilli, I wanna be fwiends with you too!"

"Sure thing, Ash!" Chilli responded.

"Hey, Ash, come see what Mummy and Daddy gave me for my birthday!"

"Okay!"

Five boys hurried up the stairs, leaving behind three very amused mothers.

Andrew had finally finished setting up the party games. "Okay, Marie, you can get the boys now!"

"Alright, dear!" she called back as she made her way up the stairs. She arrived at Tracey's room and saw the five boys sitting around a table and using his new art set to draw pictures. "It's good to see you're all getting along. Now, come on, boys, it's time for the party to start. Games first, and then presents. Let's hop to it."

"Okay!" they chorused. They left their drawings on the table, planning on completing them later on that day.

The party went off without a hitch. All of the boys had fun playing the different games, and Tracey received more fun presents. But, as with all fun times, it had to come to an end. The triplets and Ash would have to go home.

Tracey hugged Chilli and Cress first. "Thank you for coming to my party."

"It was lots of fun. We'll have to do it again," Chilli responded quietly.

He then hugged Ash. "I'm glad you could come too, Ash. Thank you."

"I was happy to come," Ash replied. "I made more fwiends too."

"You did." Finally, he hugged Cilan. "Thank you for coming to my party."

"I'm glad I could. I had a lot of fun, and it was great spending more time with you."

"I told you everything would be alright, didn't I?"

"You did, and you were right. I'm glad that we met Ash, that we're now friends with him too."

He squeezed him a little before the embrace was broken. He stood with his parents as he watched Telisha, her sons, Delia and her son all head down the path that would lead from the front door to the street. He felt a little sad that they had to go home, it felt like the fun was only starting. But, at least his friends all got along.

"Come on, Tracey, it's time to get ready for bed," Andrew stated softly as he closed the door once everyone was out of sight.

He was being tucked into his bed, the excitement of the day catching up to him. His eyelids were drooping slightly as his mother and father gave him a kiss good night.

"Was your party fun?"

"It was, Mummy. I'm glad all of my friends could meet each other." He let out a quiet yawn.

"Alright, Tracey. Time to go to sleep. You can play with your friends tomorrow. Delia organised a playdate for all of you."

"Yay," he cheered tiredly. He let out another yawn. "Night-night, Mummy. Night-night, Daddy."

"Good night, Tracey," they both murmured. Andrew switched off the light, he and his wife leaving their son to sleep.

Tracey had sweet dreams that night, all including him playing with his closest friends.


End file.
